Inventor, Businessman. In 1823 he built a foundry in St. Johnsbury to manufacture two of his inventions, a plow and a stove made from cast iron. In 1824 his brother Erastus joined the business, which they named E & T Fairbanks Company, an enterprise that later included their brother Joseph as a partner. In 1830 Thaddeus revolutionized the business world when he invented the platform scale, a machine for weighing large containers. This device made it possible to determine the weight and value of the contents of wagons and railroad cars, and was so successful that the Fairbanks company was inundated with orders even before the scale had gone into production. Within 30 years the Fairbanks company employed more than 1,000 workers and expanded to more than 40 buildings in St. Johnsbury, with branch offices in Boston and New York and franchise arrangements that gave the company a worldwide customer base. The Fairbanks family became the wealthiest in Vermont and were active in politics, with Erastus and his son Horace both serving as Governor. The Fairbanks family also endowed museums, libraries and other institutions in St. Johnsbury and throughout Vermont. Through sales and mergers the Fairbanks company eventually moved its production to Mississippi and corporate offices to Missouri, where it still continues to operate. (bio by: Bill McKern)